Campus shutdown continues till January 30.

Bangladesh extended the shutdown of schools and other educational institutions, save Kwami madrasas, till January 30 as the coronavirus pandemic rages on in the country as across the world. The education ministry announced the latest decision further extending the prolonged campus closure in a statement issued Friday. The government announced the closure of all schools on March 17 following outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The shutdown period has since been extended on several occasions, most recently until January 16. Also, the rampaging global epidemic resulted in the cancellation of the HSC and equivalent exams, originally slated for April 1. The government has also scrapped PEC exams for the fifth graders, and JSC and JDC exams for the eighth graders along with the annual exams for students of Class VI to Class X. Such a situation in the academic arena is likened to a yearlong vacuum during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War which had necessitated auto-promotion of students and next public examines held on condensed courses of syllabi. Meanwhile, suggestion for campus reopening was growing as students get exasperating for prolonged home-stay and the UN education agency also now alerts that effects of another year of school closures will be felt for generations to come. The UNICEF worry reflects anxieties over the campus shutdown across the world, and some countries weighed the loss of education and risks of coronavirus infection and opted for classroom learning. Some, however, had to revert to shutdown amid raging winter waves of the pandemic. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said of late that "educational institutions will be reopened once the corona situation improves". Those who are pleading for campus reopening, including some students and student organizations, point out that all sectors are open and mass political and other gatherings are taking place save only education sector. Banglsdesh, belying grim predictions, averted such winter waves. Rather the incidence remained low, with the infection rate dropping to the lowest level at little over 5.0 percent and daily deaths at 13 on Friday by official count. UNICEF Executive Director...